Study Says Smoking Can Speed Up Your Aging By 20 Years

By now, you should already be acquainted with the dangers of smoking, but if you're one of the estimated 38 million Americans who are still puffing away, maybe the results of a new study will finally convince you to quit.

Simply put, the bodies of men and women who smoke are 20 years older than people of the same age who don't.

According to the findings published in Scientific Reports, blood tests of nearly 150,000 people were run through an artificial intelligence system, which built predictive lifespan models from the results.

The models proved that the biological age of men and women -- the actual internal age of their bodies' systems, not how many candles they've blown out on their last cake -- is sped up drastically, compared to those who don't smoke.

Biological age has been considered a more accurate predictor of when a person will die.

Study author Dr. Polina Mamoshina said: "Compared with nonsmokers, smokers showed an accelerated rate of aging through to age 55 years regardless of sex."